The 12 ways of Christmas – The Entertainment

I laughed out aloud when I discovered what televisual delights were available to entertain. This would have been after you'd opened your science kit and played with the magnet and iron filings, or the cooking thing that made stragne tasting jelly, or you'd used all the batteries that powered the rifle range game, and it was too cold or there was too much snow to play with your Action Man Red Devil Parachute" toy....

Christmas Eve Thursday 24th December 1970. Some of the highlights

• 11.10am Tom and Jerry Mice Follies


• 11.15am On Top of the World international ice champions entertain


• 12.00 Movin' Along with Andy Williams


• 3.30pm Film : Misty (1961) with David Ladd and Arthur O' Connell


• 4.55pm Blue Peter


• 5.20pm Scooby-Doo, Where Are You ?


• 5.44pm The Magic Roundabout Pancakes, When Dougal starts cooking there are plenty of offers of help from his friends


• 6.15pm Tomorrow's World


• 6.45pm Joy to the World


• 7.30pm The Cliff Richard Show

The Adults got a real treat :

• 8.20pm The Gang Show Gala, with Peter Sellers, Dick Emery, Graham Stark, Cardew Robinson, Reg Dixon and David Lodge


• 9.20pm Play of the Month: Five Finger Exercise with Margaret Lockwood, Paul Rogers


• 10.50pm Just Pet


• 11.40pm A Story for Christmas The Gift of the Magi


• 11.50pm First Communion of Christmas, from Worcester Cathedral


• 1.05am Closedown

Christmas Day Friday 25th December 1970, as if you couldn't get enough excitement

•  9.30pm Basil's Christmas Morning with Basil Brush and Derek Fowlds


• 10.00pm Christmas Crackers a cartoon parade with Michael Aspel


• 12.35pm The Story of the Silver Skates starring Eleanor Parker, Richard Baseheart


• 2.15pm Top of the Pops 70


• 3.00pm The Queen, speaks to the Commonwealth and introduces a special film


• 3.25pm Billy Smart's Circus Spectacular


• 4.30pm Disney Time with Harry Worth


• 5.10pm Robinson Crusoe starring Ken Dodd, with Lyn Kennington, Peter Glaze, Arthur Mullard


• 6.45pm Christmas Night with the Stars introduced by Cilla Black, featuring Bob Hope,Mary Hopkin,Graham Kerr, Jerry Lewis, Nana Mouskouri, Clodagh Rodgers,Frank Sinatra, Jack Warner,Dad's Army, Stanley Baxter, Dick Emery, Bachelor Father,Terry Scott and June Whitfield

And if the Snowball, Babycham or the Party Seven hadn't done the trick for the adults there was

• 8.15pm The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show


• 9.15pm Film : Charade (1963) starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn


• 11.00pm The Good Old Days with Danny La Rue


• 11.50pm But Seriously...on the Nativity with Joyce Grenfell, Cyril Fletcher, Ernie Wise

And at 12.00 midnight the TV station Closed down for the night, yes they did.

Check out 1975 and other years here